Petra Mills, NC, Sept. 3, 1887, a P.P. Hammond Co. of Aurora, Illinois, double circle CDS Pinwheel cancel tying a Scott #210 issued October 1, 1883 to envelope. The envelope is posted to Little River, NC in Alexander County. Petra Mills was located in Caldwell County. It first opened in 1873. The name was changed to Petra in 1894 and the Post Office was closed in 1906. Postmaster John R. Heath was appointed postmaster on May 26, 1886 and served until August 2, 1890. He would have been the postmaster who ordered the handstamp device and posted this cover. Only ten cities are recorded using this pinwheel type cancel in North Carolina.

Scott CSA #6 pair rouletted. When the Civil War began, the South had little industrial ability; thus, the stamps they issued were not perforated. Several Confederate postmasters rouletted their stamp to separate them from the sheet – including Oxford.

Six cent rate to carry this cover less than one mile by a ferry up Chowan River. The addressee, James Johnston, maintained 7,834 acres of farm land in 1860. At the time this letter was written, the Hayes Plantation was 1,374 acres.

RFD – Rural Free Delivery began in North Carolina at China Grove in 1899. To the surprise of many today, the postal customers did not want mail delivered to their homes Click Here. They preferred to visit the post office. The RFD postmark on this cover was applied by the rural carrier of Biltmore.

When the Civil War began, stamps were unavailable. A few postmasters printed their own stamps can you buy viagra without a prescription. The postmaster of Lenoir’s son carved this stamp in pear wood and printed 500 copies. Today 27 examples are known.